TORONTO: Pride Toronto, which produces the city's 10-day pride festival, has banned interviews with Xtra, the country's largest gay and lesbian publication.

The decision came after Xtra published an article, in which Pride Toronto's new executive director Tracey Sandilands was quoted saying that pride is “just a party, a gay party”, and that perhaps it was moving too far away from open expressions of homosexuality. Sandilands told the magazine that her comments were taken out of context, and that the board of directors of Pride Toronto have agreed to no longer give interviews to Xtra because of its lack of support.

Xtra.ca published a follow-up article on its Web site, outlining Sandilands objections. In the article, Matt Mills, editorial director of the Xtrapapers and fab magazine, pointed out that Xtra publisher Pink Triangle Press has supported the organization through editorial, advertising, and even direct financial assistance.

“We'd like them to reconsider [the ban]. It's a tactical mistake to have them alienate our readers [which number about 90,000],” Mills told PRWeek.